H.H. the Prime Minister

Date of Birth
His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Honorable Prime Minister, was born on 24 November 1935.

Education
H.R.H started learning the Holy Quran at the hands of one of the most famous Sheikhs in Bahrain at that time. It was only a short time before he began his formal education. His father, H.H. Shaikh Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Ruler of Bahrain, appointed a group of the most qualified teachers at the time to teach him basic subjects before joining the Government School. In 1957, he was sent to study in Britain at intervals until 1959.

Positions and Tasks Assumed By H.R.H. The Prime Minister

March 1953 Assistant in the Office of his father the Ruler

1 Sept 1954 Member in the Committee of discussing the problems of rents

22 March 1956 Member of the Education Council

13 Jan 1957 President of the Education Council

30 Dec 1957 Member of the Electricity Committee

26 Aug 1958 Acting Secretary of the Government of Bahrain.

11 Nov 1958 Member of the Committee charged with discussing the affairs of the Government Employees

16 Nov 1960 Director of the Government's Finance

19 Nov1961 President of the Irrigation Council

15 May 1962 Mayor of Manama

9 Dec 1964 Chairman of the Monetary Council

9 Aug 1965 President of the Foreigners’ Migration and Residence Issues Council

2 May 1966 Chairman of the Administrative Council

19 Jan 1970 Chairman of the State Council.

15 Aug 1971 Prime Minister

8 Dec 1973 Chairman of the Supreme Defense Council

6 Nov 1980 Chairman of the Supreme Council of Oil

18 April 1982 Chairman of the Civil Service Council

4 May 1982 Chairman of the Water Resources Council

5 Aug 1995 Chairman of the Supreme Council of Civil Aviation

1 April 2000 Chairman of the Supreme Council for Economic Development

Hobbies and fields of Interest
H.R.H. regularly exercises walking. H.R.H. prefers this particular sport to allow him the opportunity to meditate and think about the issues that concern him. Ancient artifacts, especially weapons and cars, are also among his interests. The hobby that H.R.H. loves is drawing. H.R.H. continues to follow closely all the new updates in this field. Agriculture, horticulture, and interest in birds and wildlife are some of H.R.H hobbies. Photography is also one of H.R.H.’s favorite hobbies.

H.R.H. is highly interested in international economic and political affairs as well.

Accolades & Honorary Degrees Of H.R.H. The Prime Minister

3 April 1952 The First Class Order of the Two Rivers (or Wisam Al-Rafidain ) , Iraq .

March 1958 The National Order of the Cedar, the highest honour in Lebanon, bestowed by H.E. Sami El Solh; Prime Minister of the Republic of Lebanon.

24 Sept 1960 The First Class Commander Order of Dannebrog, Denmark .

19 Dec1976 The Order of Al Khalifa (Al Khalifa Collar); the highest order in Bahrain by Amiri Decree No. 8 of 1976, bestowed by the Late Amir H.H Shaikh Isa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, Amir of the State of Bahrain.

30 Jan 1999 The Supreme Order of the Renaissance bestowed by Prince Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein, Crown Prince of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It is the highest Jordanian Award.

13 Apr 2005 The Outstanding Achievement Medal, bestowed by the President of the Council of Representatives in the Republic of the Philippines.

4 Jan 2007 The Order of Lakandula with rank of Supremo (Grand Collar); the highest Filipino Order given to leaders and head of states and governments. Bestowed by H.E. Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo President of the Republic of the Philippines.

2 July 2007 "2006 Special Citation of the UN-Habitat Scroll of Honour” from the United Nations Human Settlements Programme in Geneva, Switzerland.

24 Jun 2008 The Degree of Doctor of Humanities from Lawrence Technological University- United States of America bestowed from the President of the University.

11 Apr 2009 Order of King Abdul Aziz ( King Abdulaziz Medal) which is the highest Saudi rank bestowed by H.M. King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, King of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

13 Aug 2009 Honorary Doctorate Degree in Political Science from Prince of Songkla University in the Kingdom of Thailand , bestowed by the President of the University.

12 Oct 2009 UNESCO Avicenna Gold Medal, bestowed by the General Director of UNESCO in Paris, Republic of France.

19 Oct 2009 Golden Shield from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Paris, given to leaders and heads of states.

21 Oct 2009 H.M. the King of Bahrain granting H.H. the title of “His Royal Highness Prince”.

20 Nov 2009 Visionary Award 2009 of the Union of Arab Banks.

13 Dec 2009 King Hamad Order of the Renaissance 1st class ( Wisam al Nahda) bestowed by H.M. King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of the Kingdom of Bahrain, marking the Celebration of the Kingdom of Bahrain on the National Day and the accession to the throne.

4 Apr 2010 Golden Shield which is the Arab Jurists Union’s top Award, bestowed by the Union’s Permanent Bureau members.

19 Sept 2010 Millennium Development Goals Award from the United Nations.

8 June 2014 The International Federation of Business and Professional Women (BPW International) President’s Gold Award.

29 Feb 2016 The Information and Communication Technology in Sustainable Development Award by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in the United Nations. H.R.H is the first Arab Prime Minister to be honored by ITU, being among leaders who strongly support the use of ICT in achieving sustainable development goals.

22 Mar 2016 2016 International Leadership Award from the International Federation of Training and Development Organizations (IFTDO). The award is reserved for leaders who have an impact on the masses. H.R.H is the first person to be honored with a new international award for leadership.

30 Mar 2016 The Flame of Peace Award from the Association for the Furtherance of Peace, Austria, thus becoming the First Arab Prime Minister to have received such a prestigious Award.

22 Oct 2016 The Order of the Golden Fleece from the Royal Habsburg family and Hollabrunn City Council, Austria.

11 April 2017 An Honorary PHD Degree from Al-Quds Open University. Bestowed by H.E. Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian President during his visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain.

19 April 2017 The Arab League Shield for Leadership in Arab Development from the Arab League. H.R.H. became the first Arab leader to be honoured with a pioneering regional award.

18 May 2017 UNESCO Peace Medal carrying the word “ peace” in all official languages of the United Nations, which are English, French , Arabic, Spanish, Russian and Chinese, Bestowed by Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director – General during her visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain in H.R.H.’s Palace in Riffa.

22 May 2017 The Arab Parliament Shield from the Arab Parliament. Bestowed by Dr. Mishal Bin Fahm Al Salmi, Presient of the Arab Parliament, during the Arab Parliament delegation visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain

20 Sept 2017 The World Peace Culture Award from the Federation of World Peace and Love (FOWPAL). Bestowed by Dr. Hong Tao –Tze, President of the Federation of World Peace and Love (FOWPAL) in New York.

12 Dec 2017 His Majesty King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa , King of the Kingdom of Bahrain, visited the Southern Governorate where he launched the “ Khalifa Town” , a milestone which combines the Southern Town Housing projects, linking Askar, Jaw, Al Dur and their suburbs. The new city named after H.R.H. The Prime Minster, is in recognition of the H.R.H.’s landmark achievements and valuable contributions to the nation.

Assistant in his father’s ruling court (March 1953)

Member of the Rental Solutions Committee (September 1954)

Member of the Educational Board (March 1956)

President of the Educational Board (January 1957)

Member of the Electricity Committee (December 1957)

Member of the committee assigned to look into government employee affairs (November 1958)

Acting Secretary of the Government of Bahrain (August 1958)

President of government Finance (November 1960)

President of Irrigation Council (November 1961)

President of Manama Municipality (May 1962)

President of Monetary Council (December 1964)

President of Immigration and Residency Appeals Council (August 1965)

President of Management Council (May 1966)

President of State Council (January 1970)

Mere hours after the signing of the document ending the special treaty between Bahrain and the United Kingdom on the 15th of August, 1971, H.M. Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, then Ruler of Bahrain, issued a decree to reorganize the political structure of the country.

As per the decree, the Emirate of Bahrain was renamed the State of Bahrain and the Ruler of Bahrain was changed to Emir of Bahrain. Another decree followed shortly thereafter which changed the State Council to Cabinet of Ministers and the President of the State Council to Prime Minister and Members of the State Council to Ministers.

The Cabinet of Ministers worked relentlessly from day 1 on its goal of achieving its ambitions quickly to bring Bahrain up to speed with other modern nations and reach the hopes and dreams of its people.

Since then, the country has gone from one success to another, becoming a model for larger countries with bigger human and natural capital.

Married with three children: Mohammed (deceased), Ali, and Salman

Regularly meets with key pillars of the community and invites them to his palace in the evening to discuss various affairs

An avid walker and reader, and possesses a great deal of interest in Bahrain’s history and culture. His hobbies also include landscaping and raising various birds and natural wildlife, as well as photography and painting.

His court receives a large number of letters from Bahrain’s citizens requesting help in certain matters which they cannot resolve themselves. He usually forwards these letters to the proper entities or issues answers to these letters himself.

*Ministry of Foreign Affairs' is responsible for coordinating
and implementing all matters related to the nation's foreign policy,
Bahrain's relations with other countries and international organizations,
and to protecting the interests of Bahraini citizens abroad.